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"HRW": AZERBAIJANI AUTHORITIES CREATED EXTREMELY HOSTILE ATMOSPHERE FOR POLITICAL ACTIVISTS AND INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS
15:02 01/02/2013 " SOCIETY
Azerbaijan hosted the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, casting an
international spotlight on the government's deteriorating human rights
record. The atmosphere for political activists and independent and
pro-opposition journalists grew acutely hostile, the annual report of
the Human Rights Watch reads.
"Authorities used imprisonment as a tool for political retribution and
forcibly dispersed a number of peaceful demonstrations,
indiscriminately arresting activists and passersby. Restrictions on
freedom of religion and the prosecution of unregistered religious
groups continued. The government intensified its urban renewal
campaign in the capital Baku, forcibly evicting thousands of families
and illegally demolishing homes," the report says. The HRW notes that
foreign actors failed to fully realize the potential of their
relationships with the government to press it to honor its human
rights obligations.
Touching upon the freedom of speech the organization mentions that
series of journalists have undergone to trumped-up charges in
hooliganism and drug possession. Among the repressed journalists in
Azerbaijan the organization gives the names of Faramaz Novruzoglu,
Hilal Mammadov, Idrak Abbasov, Anar Bayramli and others.
According to the report government limited freedom of assembly by
breaking up peaceful protests, in some cases violently, and arresting
protesters. In March, at the first sanctioned opposition protest since
2006, police detained two popular musicians as they played at the
peaceful gathering. Police beat and denied them access to their
lawyer.
"In April, police detained 20 activists distributing flyers
encouraging people to attend an opposition rally. Courts sentenced 7
of the activists to 10 to 15 days of detention, and fined or released
others. In the days before and during May's Eurovision Song Contest,
police broke up several protests in Baku's center," the document says.
In October, as the report notes, the police rounded up dozens of
protesters in an unsanctioned rally in central Baku, roughed them up
and forced them into buses. Courts imprisoned 13 on misdemeanor
charges for up to 10 days, and fined several others. The HRW also
highlights that the parliament increased sanctions for participating
and organizing unauthorized protests, establishing fines of up to
1,000 AZN ($ 1,274) for participation, and 3,000 ($ 3,822) for
organization.
"Imprisonment on politically motivated charges is a continuing
problem. A June 2012 report by a committee of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) described the cases of 89
political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Just before the report's
publication, nine were released under a presidential pardon," the
report says. Another problem according to Human Rights Watch in
Azerbaijan is torture and ill-treatment that remain with impunity. It
says that two men died in police custody in 2012. "In the first eight
months of 2012, the Azerbaijan Committee Against Torture, an
independent prison monitoring group, received 136 complaints alleging
ill-treatment in custody," the report says.
As for illegal demolition of houses HRW notes that in 2012, hundreds
of homeowners were affected as the authorities accelerated
construction for the Eurovision Song Contest. "Most evictees have not
received fair compensation based on market values of their
properties," the report says.
Source: Panorama.am
From: A. Papazian
15:02 01/02/2013 " SOCIETY
Azerbaijan hosted the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, casting an
international spotlight on the government's deteriorating human rights
record. The atmosphere for political activists and independent and
pro-opposition journalists grew acutely hostile, the annual report of
the Human Rights Watch reads.
"Authorities used imprisonment as a tool for political retribution and
forcibly dispersed a number of peaceful demonstrations,
indiscriminately arresting activists and passersby. Restrictions on
freedom of religion and the prosecution of unregistered religious
groups continued. The government intensified its urban renewal
campaign in the capital Baku, forcibly evicting thousands of families
and illegally demolishing homes," the report says. The HRW notes that
foreign actors failed to fully realize the potential of their
relationships with the government to press it to honor its human
rights obligations.
Touching upon the freedom of speech the organization mentions that
series of journalists have undergone to trumped-up charges in
hooliganism and drug possession. Among the repressed journalists in
Azerbaijan the organization gives the names of Faramaz Novruzoglu,
Hilal Mammadov, Idrak Abbasov, Anar Bayramli and others.
According to the report government limited freedom of assembly by
breaking up peaceful protests, in some cases violently, and arresting
protesters. In March, at the first sanctioned opposition protest since
2006, police detained two popular musicians as they played at the
peaceful gathering. Police beat and denied them access to their
lawyer.
"In April, police detained 20 activists distributing flyers
encouraging people to attend an opposition rally. Courts sentenced 7
of the activists to 10 to 15 days of detention, and fined or released
others. In the days before and during May's Eurovision Song Contest,
police broke up several protests in Baku's center," the document says.
In October, as the report notes, the police rounded up dozens of
protesters in an unsanctioned rally in central Baku, roughed them up
and forced them into buses. Courts imprisoned 13 on misdemeanor
charges for up to 10 days, and fined several others. The HRW also
highlights that the parliament increased sanctions for participating
and organizing unauthorized protests, establishing fines of up to
1,000 AZN ($ 1,274) for participation, and 3,000 ($ 3,822) for
organization.
"Imprisonment on politically motivated charges is a continuing
problem. A June 2012 report by a committee of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) described the cases of 89
political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Just before the report's
publication, nine were released under a presidential pardon," the
report says. Another problem according to Human Rights Watch in
Azerbaijan is torture and ill-treatment that remain with impunity. It
says that two men died in police custody in 2012. "In the first eight
months of 2012, the Azerbaijan Committee Against Torture, an
independent prison monitoring group, received 136 complaints alleging
ill-treatment in custody," the report says.
As for illegal demolition of houses HRW notes that in 2012, hundreds
of homeowners were affected as the authorities accelerated
construction for the Eurovision Song Contest. "Most evictees have not
received fair compensation based on market values of their
properties," the report says.
Source: Panorama.am
From: A. Papazian